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Melbourne Zoo grieves for 'much-loved' gorilla

One of Melbourne Zoo's star attractions, Rigo the gorilla, has died from an apparent heart attack.

The silverback western lowland gorilla collapsed suddenly on Thursday morning and could not be revived, Melbourne Zoo director Kevin Tanner said.

"Rigo has been a much-loved member of the zoo family for 40 years, almost a third of the zoo's entire history," Mr Tanner said.

While heart conditions are common in older male gorillas, 42-year-old Rigo's cardiac function had been evaluated in 2007 and 2009 and there was no evidence of disease.

Melbourne Zoo head of veterinary services Dr Michael Lynch said Rigo had appeared to be in good health and was not receiving treatment.

After arriving from the Netherlands as a three-year-old in 1973, Rigo along with future mate Yuska quickly become crowd favourites at the zoo.

In 1984 Rigo and Yuska made history when they had Mzuri, the first gorilla born in Australia.
Silverback western lowland gorillas have an expected life expectancy of about 35 years.